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Me109 E-1 Arno Zimmermann 7./JG54


nmayhew

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Looking good.

 

It doesn't look like it's a very straight forward kit to build though. Looks like a person could build themselves into a real mess if they are not paying attention on this one?

 

ok update time...

 

Ron, yes and no... i haven't done anything special or "out there" as far as scratch building etc, all i have done is test fit and "fiddle" (thus far!)

 

anyway, here's the first of a couple of updates this evening...

 

engine painted and dry brushed with silver to make it look a bit more realistic - i think it is mainly the front / top end corners that will be visible through the cowling vents, so the other stuff is probably pretty superfluous, but we'll see

 

IMG_5741.jpg

 

IMG_5742.jpg

 

i then glued the cockpit to one side of the fuselage, held with clamps, more because i couldn't be bothered to hold it than it was difficult etc, although they do come in very handy!

 

IMG_5743.jpg

 

IMG_5744.jpg

 

IMG_5746.jpg

 

and here it is once the glue has dried...

 

IMG_5747.jpg

 

fuselage assembly next...

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the fuselage seemed to go together ok, although the clamps are definitely useful here...

 

IMG_5748.jpg

 

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looks alright from here

 

IMG_5750.jpg

 

although quite strange and "un 109-like" at the moment!

 

IMG_5751.jpg

 

the only difficulty was self inflicted, because i fixed all the exhaust stubs to the engine, which means some rather aggressive bending to the front part of the lower cowling was required to get the around the engine

 

however once done, the engine sits nicely, held by the exhaust stubs in their "grooves" (although these had to be extensively thinned for the exhaust to fit - this is crap by Eduard!!)

 

IMG_5752.jpg

 

side view:

 

IMG_5753.jpg

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thought i would test fit the lower wing piece - a bit tight at the rear, but no issues, and not too many gaps up front (a bit of putty will fix them fine)

 

IMG_5754.jpg

 

IMG_5755.jpg

 

dihedral looks ok (the house is c300 years old, so the beams in the background are NOt straight!)

 

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here you can see the front / under the engine glued together - i did this bit after, in a separate stage to the rest of the fuselage; it seemed more manageable that way

 

IMG_5756.jpg

 

again, a bit of putty to fill seams, and filing to square of the vents and it should be fine (Eduard: poor quality control here though - the edges are a bit wonky and rounded!)

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despite all this apparent activity, my cat Spitfire was not interested, and decided to amuse himself by performing acrobatics in the bean bag!

 

IMG_5765.jpg

 

IMG_5774.jpg

 

anyway...

 

i put Mr Dissolved Putty around the cowling seams for sanding and filing a bit later...

 

IMG_5764.jpg

 

and then i decided to put the wings on, upper section first on the basis that the join between upper wing and fuselage is often very fiddly to fix if there are problems, whereas the bottom piece is much easier to fix

 

this is still the way i would go if /when i make another of these kits, but i b*ggered it up and now have dihedral problems (ARRRRRRRGHHHHH!!!!) - pics of which later...

 

IMG_5772.jpg

 

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the right wing (left as you look at picture) is definitely more "uppy" (advanced geometric term used in the avaiation airframe industry) than the other

 

IMG_5775.jpg

 

not amused that my poor test fitting and impatient use of superglue has caused a BIG headache

 

any ideas on how i can fix this???

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here you can see the lower cowling after the first set of filing / sanding - looks a bit better

 

IMG_5787.jpg

 

a small house keeping point at this stage - i didn;t realise the two "arms" which are part of the engine frame are visible through the undercarriage area, so had to add these - at least i noticed before it was too late!

 

IMG_5779.jpg

 

then i added the tail plane, and again had dihedral problems - whether this was Eduard (the two wings are meant to interlink but mine were WAY off in their sizing :piliot: ) or me i don't know - i may yet snap them off and start again, but stupidly i have already fixed the struts, so not sure what to do here as they will be a right off if i do this!

 

IMG_5781.jpg

 

i don;t have a front on picture of this yet - partly becuase i'm too annoyed to photograph it!

 

:BANGHEAD2: :BANGHEAD2:

 

anyway, on to happier things...

 

addressed the fact the wing MGs are just "holes" in the kit, whereas blast tubes (NOT the MG itself) should be visible - thank you again Frank Crenshaw over on ARC - by using 3/32" (0.93mm) evergreen styrene tube..

 

on left original, on right once i filed it down to fit the kit hole - sorry for crappy pic

 

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and here is how they will look in the wing - the cross bar just makes it sit straight in the wing, although no idea whether it would make any difference / be visible

 

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IMG_5810.jpg

 

they should look quite good once the wings are "buttoned up"

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ok last update for tonight as i have to SWMBO from the station in a moment...

 

i used the Eduard PE udpates for the undercarriage area - fitting was "challenging" and the main piece is just plain wrong (unless someone has a pic to prove otherwise)

 

Eduard - how can you goof a PE update for YOUR OWN KIT???!!! :piliot:

 

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see the large gap -surely this can't be right?

 

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but looks better from this angle

 

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finally, i glued the bottom wing piece on and you can see the gap between upper wing - no big deal, if only the gap was uniform each side!!

 

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putty zone...

 

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ok as they say "that's all folks"

 

hope it has not been too boring - guys is this actually of interest??? these updates are taking as loing as the kit itself!

 

take it easy,

 

Nick

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This kit looks like tough work Nick. It reminds me of the battle I had with the Hasegawa kit, though most of my troubles were self-inflicted. I love tough builds though (and easy ones too!), as I think that's when you really learn the most as a modeller. Keep at it mate!

 

Kev

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Nick, It looks like your doing a great job. Great thought process assembly

 

I do most of my wing assembly the way you did. I think you will find the Dihedral issues will fix themselves with the lower wing being added.

 

Great build thread and not boring. I'll certainly use this as a reference when I build mine.

 

Ron

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Ron, Kevin,

thank you for the kind words - it's nice to know there is an interest.

 

i realise this isn't going to be one the those showcase / "wow" models you see on here, but if someone is going to build one of the Eduard 109s, then i like to think it will be useful, if only to show how NOT to do stuff!! :speak_cool:

 

anyway, it looks like you were right Ron about the dihedral issues!

 

after joing the wing halves together yesterday evening...

 

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it looks like the wings are ok - this is the best pic i could come up with to show the dihedral

 

the tailplane is definitely off though and i am really annoyed i was so sloppy! grrrr! :BANGHEAD2:

 

IMG_5831.jpg

 

hopefully a few more updates before the i go to Frankfurt for the weekend on business, fingers crossed

 

Nick

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  • 2 weeks later...

ok it's been a while and basically i haven't done much :evil_laugh:

 

i scoured away with a dremel type tool a bit of the engine parts which were somehow distorting the line of the engine fuselage, pulling it off to one side

it looks uuuuugly but does the trick:

 

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i think the reason this was required was probably hasty assembly, rather than the kit itself, linked to my having to "wedge" the engine in the first place

 

hey ho...

 

i also addressed the tail plane dihedral issue in one simple step :popcorn:

IMG_5836.jpg

 

looks pretty drastic but after (stupidly) supergluing rather than using normal glue and its asscoiated "wiggle room" (technical term) it was the only option.

 

it was pretty easy to fix - i glued the wing, then filled the 1mm or so gap in the strut with superglue and putty, then sanded to naked eye satisfaction, and voila!

 

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strut looks a little thick but will sand some more in a bit...

 

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once i have sanded all the fuselage joints that need it i will then move on the gun platform in front of the cockpit, where i am still not sure how much detail to or what course i will take...

 

cheers,

 

Nick

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ok it's been a while and basically i haven't done much :)

 

i scoured away with a dremel type tool a bit of the engine parts which were somehow distorting the line of the engine fuselage, pulling it off to one side

it looks uuuuugly but does the trick:

 

IMG_5832.jpg

 

IMG_5833.jpg

 

i think the reason this was required was probably hasty assembly, rather than the kit itself, linked to my having to "wedge" the engine in the first place

 

hey ho...

 

i also addressed the tail plane dihedral issue in one simple step :punk:

IMG_5836.jpg

 

looks pretty drastic but after (stupidly) supergluing rather than using normal glue and its asscoiated "wiggle room" (technical term) it was the only option.

 

it was pretty easy to fix - i glued the wing, then filled the 1mm or so gap in the strut with superglue and putty, then sanded to naked eye satisfaction, and voila!

 

IMG_5837.jpg

 

strut looks a little thick but will sand some more in a bit...

 

IMG_5838.jpg

 

once i have sanded all the fuselage joints that need it i will then move on the gun platform in front of the cockpit, where i am still not sure how much detail to or what course i will take...

 

cheers,

 

Nick

 

 

MMMMM. it's so long since i posted i think this is how...............

 

 

I have the same kit and PE set and have looked at many on line builds and have to say i think most of your problems are self induced, i will say i have not built this yet and will be willing to be bludgoned to death if proved wrong, in your pic from the rear the airframe is bent, from the bottom the panel lines don't line up, (in the real thing this also occurred in later builds as time and funds grew short) in kit form i don't think this is so, i don't think you would need to cut the stays on the horizontal stbs to get them right, just move them out a little, Brett green built this with few problems, Frank Crenshaw also but with some mods to panel lines and intake ducts.

 

So far i have yet to come across a kit that needed a barrel load of putty, this one certainly not. i built the Cutting edge 109 a/b/c/d conversion of the hase 109 in 1/32 and although i encountered a warped fuselage of my own making the only filler i used was a little CA glue

 

I'm going to get it out from under the bed now and have a look (and the 109)

 

hope it goes alright

 

Best regards GK

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hi Gary,

 

thanks for the comments - yes a lot of the "problems" are self induced, but many are not

 

Brett never posts a full step by step build - all you see is the nice "here is one i prepared earlier" stuff which, whilst it looks nice, is pretty useless if you are looking for instruction on what to (and not) do...

 

just my tuppence worth...

 

as to the rear fuselage, yes good spot - another reason to be wary of CA glue!

by the way this has nothing to do with stuff round the chin area not lining up, as they were glued in completely separate stages

 

have a i used a mountain of putty?

well, one man's mole hill and all that... :)

 

the way you mention Frank Crenshaw's build, you would think everything fell together!!

it is his build i am following (although he is waaaaaay better than i am!), and i can assure you that many of the probs / issues (that are mostly easy to overcome) i have highlighted here have come straight from his build...

 

here is the link, although i don;t know if he is still updating it, or is having a "rest"

 

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index....howtopic=179259

 

anyway, i guess the gist of your comments is that i should pay a bit more attention to my build, and i accept that, but i am sorry if you don't think it is useful for you

 

as i said before, i think the 5 step blogs and "ta-dah" it's suddenly done

a ) defeat the object

b ) aren't that useful for modellers who aren't masters, and who want to learn through common experience

 

cheers,

 

nick

 

PS to re-iterate, i like the kit...

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